corral

1 of 2

noun

cor·​ral kə-ˈral 

-ˈrel

1

: a pen or enclosure for confining or capturing livestock

herded the cattle into the corral

2

: an enclosure made with wagons for defense of an encampment

corral

2 of 2

verb

corralled; corralling

transitive verb

1

: to enclose in a corral (see corral entry 1 sense 1)

corralled the horses

2

: to arrange (wagons) so as to form a corral (see corral entry 1 sense 2)

3

: collect, gather

corralling votes for the upcoming election

Synonyms of corral

Noun

• cage
• coop

Verb

• house
• confine
• enclose
• surround
• pen
• cage
• encase

Examples of corral in a Sentence

Noun

the horses live in our corral, along with a cow

Verb

corralled everyone in the conference room for a speech by the CEO

corralled a scattering of stray pens and quickly stuffed them in the drawer to tidy the desk

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Their family property has sat empty for years — the horse corral's beams are broken and its roof caved in, the garage tilts, and the house needs extensive repairs. —Katheryn Houghton, NPR, 8 Jan. 2026

The camera then cuts to shots — filmed by Jelly — of the couple’s pet cows, Crunch and S’more, escaping their corrals and running around as helpers try to get them back inside. —Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 30 Dec. 2025

Verb

Besides all of this, the January crunch stems from the Wayback machine, to the coaches seeking a way to corral their entire roster on campus long before the first game kicks off. —Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 9 Jan. 2026

Unlike previous iterations, House of Fear corrals its 14 players under a single roof for the entirety of the competition. —Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Spanish, from Vulgar Latin *currale enclosure for vehicles, from Latin currus cart, from currere to run — more at car

First Known Use

Noun

1582, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1847, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for corral

• canal
• chorale
• ghazal
• locale
• morale
• royale
• bal
• dal
• gal
• mal
• pal
• sal

Kids Definition

corral

1 of 2 noun

cor·​ral kə-ˈral 

1

: a pen for keeping or capturing livestock

2

: an enclosure made with wagons for defense of a camp

corral

2 of 2 verb

corralled; corralling

1

: to keep in or as if in a corral

2

: surround entry 1, capture

3

: to arrange wagons so as to form a corral